DISENTANGLE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does disentangle mean? 

• DISENTANGLE (verb)
  The verb DISENTANGLE has 5 senses:

1. release from entanglement of difficulty

2. extricate from entanglement

3. free from involvement or entanglement

4. separate the tangles of

5. smoothen and neaten with or as with a comb

  Familiarity information: DISENTANGLE used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DISENTANGLE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they disentangle    ... he / she / it disentangles   
Past simple: disentangled   
Past participle: disentangled   
-ing form: disentangling   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Release from entanglement of difficulty

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

disencumber; disentangle; extricate; untangle

Context example:

I cannot extricate myself from this task

Hypernyms (to "disentangle" is one way to...):

disengage; free (free or remove obstruction from)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Derivation:

disentanglement (the act of releasing from a snarled or tangled condition)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Extricate from entanglement

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

disentangle; straighten out; unsnarl

Context example:

Can you disentangle the cord?

Hypernyms (to "disentangle" is one way to...):

order (bring order to or into)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "disentangle"):

loosen; tease; tease apart (disentangle and raise the fibers of)

ravel; ravel out; unravel (disentangle)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sentence example:

They disentangle their hair

Antonym:

entangle (twist together or entwine into a confusing mass)

Derivation:

disentanglement (the act of releasing from a snarled or tangled condition)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Free from involvement or entanglement

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

disembroil; disentangle; disinvolve

Context example:

How can I disentangle myself from her personal affairs?

Hypernyms (to "disentangle" is one way to...):

discharge; free (free from obligations or duties)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

disentanglement (the act of releasing from a snarled or tangled condition)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Separate the tangles of

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

disentangle; unwind

Hypernyms (to "disentangle" is one way to...):

undo (cancel, annul, or reverse an action or its effect)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "disentangle"):

roll out; straighten (straighten by unrolling)

uncoil (unwind or untwist)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

disentanglement (the act of releasing from a snarled or tangled condition)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Smoothen and neaten with or as with a comb

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Synonyms:

comb; comb out; disentangle

Context example:

comb the wool

Hypernyms (to "disentangle" is one way to...):

groom; neaten (care for one's external appearance)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "disentangle"):

sleek down; slick; slick down (give a smooth and glossy appearance)

fluff; tease (ruffle (one's hair) by combing the ends towards the scalp, for a full effect)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

They disentangle their hair

Derivation:

disentanglement (the act of releasing from a snarled or tangled condition)

 Context examples 

This creates a super-telescope — the VLTI — that collects and precisely disentangles the light from HR8799e’s atmosphere and the light from its parent star.

(GRAVITY instrument breaks new ground in exoplanet imaging, ESO)

Clouds and hazes create a variety of complicated effects that researchers must work to disentangle from the signature of these alien atmospheres, and thus present a major obstacle for understanding transit observations.

(Sunsets on Titan reveal the complexity of hazy exoplanets, NASA)

In the new study, researchers combine recent advances to disentangle the interplay between the constraints that act on the ice-liquid transition in nanometer-sized clusters.

(Scientists probe the limits of ice, National Science Foundation)

Indeed, apart from the nature of the investigation which my friend had on hand, there was something in his masterly grasp of a situation, and his keen, incisive reasoning, which made it a pleasure to me to study his system of work, and to follow the quick, subtle methods by which he disentangled the most inextricable mysteries.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)